A Little LadyNoir Love
by callmecirce
Summary: My collection of drabbles for LadyNoir July 2017.
1. Patience

"Uh, Ladybug, any time now!"

Ladybug's eyes darted around the area frantically, trying to figure out what in the world Tikki was thinking when she gave her a large copper pot for her lucky charm. "Patience is a vir-tue," she sing-songed, biting her lip anxiously.

Chat looked over the balcony at the horde of possessed Parisians pouring through the newly breached doors, and then back at his partner. "Not right now, it isn't!"

"You're not help-ing…" She glanced at her partner again, back at the fountain in the vestibule, and then to his baton, and it finally clicked. "I've got it! Help me get past the minions, and then have your baton ready!"

Chat nodded, and as always, he seemed to know exactly what to do to help. He laced his fingers together and crouched down in front of the balcony as Ladybug backed up to get a running start. "Ready when you are, my Lady."

She nodded and sprinted forward, placing her foot in the cradle of Chat's linked hands and leaping as Chat propelled her forward. She flew through the air with a forward somersault, over the heads of the zombie-like mob, and landed in a graceful crouch on the statue in the middle of the fountain. From there, she looped her yoyo around a steel cross beam near the edge of the very modern vestibule, and leapt the rest of the way to drop her pot over the head of the akuma who called himself, very simply, The Mummy. She landed in a crouch nearby, and watched as Chat Noir, who had followed close on her heels, brought his extended baton down on the pot with a resounding _clang_.

The reverberating sound left the Mummy so disoriented that he lost control of his horde and stood dazedly as Ladybugh calmly yanked the ankh pendant from around his neck and snapped it in half, freeing the violent purple butterfly. "No more evildoing for you, little akuma," she cried, swinging her yoyo and capturing the akuma with practiced ease. "Time to de-evilize!" She released the purified butterfly with a smile. "Bye bye, little butterfly," she cooed, then looked to her partner with a satisfied nod. "Take that, Hawkmoth!"

"I guess that's a wrap," he quipped, grinning back at her, and in the midst of dozens of very confused Parisians, held his fist out for their customary fist bump.

She rolled her eyes at the pun, but smiled and met his fist with her own.

"Pound it!"


	2. Banter

"You know, it's been a while since we've had a race," Chat Noir said, nudging his partner playfully. Patrol was over, but he wasn't ready to go home just yet. He faced Ladybug hopefully. "So, what do you think, my lady? First one to Notre Dame wins?"

"Sure," Ladybug replied, smiling smugly. "But what do I get when I win?"

Chat Noir's verdant eyes brightened, and he made a show of tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm. If you win…I will refrain from punning for the entirety of our next akuma fight."

"Ooh, how generous of you, kitty." Ladybug smiled, and a teasing glint appeared in her eye as she sauntered closer. "But what if you win?"

"I know what I want if I—"

"No way, you got to choose my prize. That means I get to choose yours." She flicked his bell with a smirk, and he felt the heat of a blush in his cheeks. With one hip cocked to the side, she imitated his thoughtful chin-tapping.

Chat watched her warily. She was in an interesting mood tonight, and she was always unpredictable when she was like this.

She turned back to him with a Cheshire grin and leaned in even closer. Making him gulp. "If you win, I will give you a _kiss_."

He gaped at her. "A kiss? A _real_ kiss?"

"Sure." She flicked his bell again, and unhooked the yoyo from her hip. "But you'll have to win it first." With that she was gone, already racing for the well-known cathedral.

"Tricksy bug," he mumbled, grinning. Chat extended his baton and lit out after her, hoping that his long legs and the promise of a kiss would be enough to overtake her significant lead.


	3. Explosive

"Ha! I win!" Chat did a little victory dance around the roof, in spite of being winded.

"Only by a whisker, Chat," Labybug panted, her hands braced on her knees.

"Wait a minute," Chat froze and glanced gleefully at his partner. " _I won!_ That means I get a _kiss_!"

Ladybug's eyes widened and he could see a faint blush spreading from beneath her mask as she straightened. "Oh! Damnit, I thought I had you. Curse those long legs of yours! When are you going to be done growing?"

Chat laughed delightedly. "I think it was less about my stride and more about the motivation." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, sauntering over to stand close and nudge her shoulder. "Then again, maybe that's why you cheated. You knew you couldn't take me in a fair contest."

"Excuse me?" She glared at him, and stepped closer to jab her finger into his chest. "I beat you nine times out of ten, alley cat, and you know it!"

He held his hands up in a gesture of surrender, but his smile didn't waver. "Of course I do. But today wasn't one of those nine times, was it?"

"Oooooh!" She flushed again, and this time he knew it was frustration coloring her cheeks.

"A bet's a bet, my lady." Her eyes flashed, and he leaned back with a frown. "But you know, I won't make you kiss me, if you don't actually want to. That would be—mpf!"

She'd grabbed his face and yanked him down to hers, silencing his words with her mouth. It threw him off balance and he stumbled against her a bit, his arms going to her hips in a reflexive effort to steady himself. But then the anger seemed to leave her, and her lips began to move tentatively over his. Rather than releasing her, his hands tightened almost of their own accord. He angled his head to increase the pressure, just as her tongue slipped out to slide along the seam of his lips. He opened his mouth with a groan and met the hesitant exploration of her tongue with his own.

The sensations were new to him, as he thought they must be new to her. It was—it was _amazing_ , and he wanted to just go on kissing her like this forever. He tugged on her hips, pulling her body flush against him. He'd held her close many times before, but never like this. Never in this context. And when they touched, their world shifted a bit, making them stumble.

Ladybug tore herself away from him, with alarm writ over her features.

"Wow." He touched his lips wonderingly.

"Yeah," she said, looking over the city distractedly. "That felt like an explosion."

He cocked his head thoughtfully, his eyes shining. "I wouldn't have described it like that, but I love that you found it explosive."

She blinked. "No, Chat, that wasn't—I mean, the kiss was great, but that was a _real_ explosion." She pointed to a rising plume of smoke with her yoyo already in hand.

"Oh, uh, right. Well, this is awkward."

"Be awkward later, _Chaton_. Come on, we have to go!"

Ladybug took off, and Chat followed close on her heels. "Stupid Hawkmoth," he mumbled. "Stupid akuma."

The villain and his champion had just cemented their spots at the very tippy-top of Chat Noir's shit list.


	4. Common Interests

" _N_ _ǐ_ _h_ _ǎ_ _o ma_? How are you?"

Chat Noir hopped the railing of the observation deck, grinning at the sight of his partner. "Good evening, my lady," he said, dipping in a low bow.

She walked by him without a glance, her gaze riveted on the phone in her hand.

 _"Tiān shì lán de._ The sky is blue." Ladybug paced to the far side of the observation deck, and turned to come back. "Of course the sky is blue. Ugh, this app is ridiculous!"

"My lady?"

" _Māo shì hēisè de_. The cat is black." Ladybug snickered. "Well, that's appropriate."

Chat Noir tapped her on the shoulder, and she spun with a shriek. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!"

"Oh my god, Chat." She pulled the earbuds from her ears. "Don't sneak up on a girl like that!"

"I really didn't mean to. I said hi, but you didn't hear me."

"Oh. I guess I was just in the zone."

"What zone is that, exactly? It sounded like you were talking about blue skies and black cats in Chinese."

Her eyes widened. "You speak Chinese?"

"You were also saying the translations."

"Oh, right." She blushed.

"But, as it happens, I do speak Chinese."

"Of course you do," she said, rolling her eyes.

"I do! It's been a part of my study curriculum for years."

"Really? Huh, you're the second person I know, outside of my family, who speaks Chinese. What are the odds…" She sat on the edge of the platform with her feet dangling from the edge, and her arms resting on the railing.

Chat settled next to her, copying her pose, and rested the side of his head on his arms, to look at her. "People in your family? Are you Chinese, then?" She gave him a withering look, and he shrank back a bit. "No prying, right. Sorry."

She sighed. "It's ok. I'm half Chinese, actually. My dad is French."

"Huh." He blinked. "I have a friend who is the same. I wonder if you know her. Her name is Ma—"

"Chat!" She interrupted him sharply.

He sighed heavily, and looked out over the city. "Right."

Ladybug cleared her throat, and nudged him with her shoulder. "Maybe one day, _Chaton_ ," she said softly.

"Mm-hmm."

"Do—do you think that maybe you could help me practice?"

"What, the Chinese?"

"Yeah. I'm trying to embrace my roots, and I want to surprise my mom with it, but I'm pretty terrible."

Chat looked at her strangely, his eyes searching.

"Chat?"

"Yeah." He shook himself, and his expression cleared. "Yeah, I'd be happy to help you _paw_ -tice, my lady."

She groaned at his pun, and his face split in a grin. She shook her head at time, but smiled anyway. " _Xièxiè_ , _Chaton_."

"Of course, my lady."

Ladybug sighed in relief. With both Adrien and Chat Noir helping her, she'd pick it up in no time!


	5. Right Hook

"Is this the right hook?"

Ladybug looked at the tool in her partner's outstretched hand, and shook her head. "No, that's a latch hook. You see the little hinged arm? Crochet hooks don't have those."

Chat deflated. "I didn't know what I was looking for."

"It's ok!" Ladybug smiled encouragingly. "I have plenty. Let me see your yarn, and I'll give you the right size."

Chat produced a skein of yarn from his backpack, and Ladybug fingered the end, testing the weight. "Is that good? Did I get the right kind?"

She giggled. "There's not really a wrong kind of yarn, _Minou_. Some are more difficult to work with than others, and some are better for certain projects than others. This is actually a good choice, because it's a heavier weight, and not that fuzzy. It'll be easier for you to learn on."

As she spoke, he looked first relieved, then proud of his choice. "So how do I know what yarn to pick?"

"If you're using a pattern, it will make suggestions. Otherwise, you can Google it, or just ask me until you get a feel for what works best." She pulled out a small pink and black case, and opened it to reveal about a dozen or so crochet hooks of different sizes and colors.

He blanched. "Good grief, how do I know what hook to use?"

She smiled soothingly. "It will tell you on your yarn. Look here, see?" She pointed to the label, pointing out a small box with a hook icon, a number, and a letter. Then she looked through her hooks, finally choosing the one she wanted, and found the same number and letter stamped on the hook.

"Oh. That does make things easier."

"Mm-hmm!" She unzipped the pocket on his chest, tucked the hook into it, and handed the yarn back to him, completely unaware of the way his breath caught at her cavalier touch. "Ok, before we start learning the stitches, let's get your yarn rolled into a ball." She dug through her own bag and produced two bowls with spirals cut into them, and a ball of yarn. "It's a lot easier to work when your yarn is in a ball, so that's how I always start. Once you're done, you just put it in the bowl like this and—Chat, no! Oh my gosh, you're such a cat!"

He'd snatched the ball from her hands, and managed to immediately tangle his claws in the yarn. He looked at her with chagrin. "Um…oops?"

She eyed the mess he'd made, and then his own pristine skein of yarn. She began pulling the yarn from his claws. "Perhaps we should skip the yarn ball thing, and just work from the skein."

He sighed. "Yeah, that's probably for the best, my lady."


	6. Foggy

Ladybug landed unsteadily next to Chait Noir, blinking blearily as she hooked her yoyo at her hip. "Hell—OH!" She yawned widely, and squinted at her partner. "Hello, Chaton."

"Hello, my lady." His eyes skated over her slumped shoulders and drooping lids with concern. "Are you alright?"

"What? Oh, I'm fine." She yawned again, swaying on her feet, and he steadied her with a hand at her elbow. "Just a little tired, is all."

His frown deepened. "'Just a little tired', my lady? You're falling asleep on your feet!"

"I'm not!" She rubbed her eyes absently, looking very much like a sleepy toddler, and blinked up at him. "Why is it so foggy?"

Chat looked at the city spread below them, bathed in the soft light of the moon. It was a crisp, clear evening without even a wisp of cloud or fog to be seen. He crossed his arms over his chest, and leveled a disapproving glare at his partner. "Ladybug."

Oblivious to his disapproval, she tipped forward to lean her head on his shoulder, and slipped her arms around his waist. "Hmm?"

He raised his arms out of the way in surprise, allowing her head to rest on his chest. He shook his head, and put his hands on her shoulders. "I can handle patrol on my own tonight."

"Uhm-mmm." She nuzzled her face against his chest, and tightened her arms at his waist. "No. Don' wanna patrol."

Chat sighed, and moved his arms to circle her shoulders, holding her tenderly. "You're already more than half asleep, aren't you?"

His only answer was a soft snore.

He snickered, and decided that their patrol was a wash for the night. He scooped her up bridal-style, and moved to sit against one of the chimneys with her cradled in his lap. It was certain that he'd end up losing feeling in his ass _and_ his legs, and he would be painfully stiff by the time she woke, but he didn't much care at this point. He tucked her head into his neck, leaned his own head back against the brick of the chimney, and allowed himself to doze off—with a smile on his face.


	7. Purring

Ladybug woke slowly, feeling warm and cozy, but strangely stiff. Had she fallen asleep on her chaise after patrol? Had she gone on patrol at all? There was a rhythmic thump-thumping beneath her ear, and a low rumbling that sounded like...purring? What in the world…?

Her eyes fluttered open, and fell on the black leather-clad arms draped over her body; all at once she identified the sounds at her ear as well as the 'seat' on which she reclined.

 _Chat Noir_.

She remembered coming out for patrol now. She must have been too tired to complete it, which was embarrassing. It would have been better to just stay home and miss it entirely, than to show up drunk from lack of sleep.

She sighed, and Chat shifted a bit beneath her, tightening his hold on her body. The rumbling stuttered briefly and then resumed, louder than before.

Was Chat…purring?

Her eyes widened, and she put a hand to his chest to feel the vibration there.

He was! Chat Noir was _purring_!

Ladybug giggled, her embarrassment forgotten. She pulled her hand from his chest and slowly reached up to his head. Her hand hesitated near one of his black cat ears, brushing it with a fingertip, and it flicked—just as a real cat's ear would. She gave in to the temptation and sank her fingers into his hair, gently scratching his scalp at the base of that ear.

He smiled in his sleep, and the purring grew louder.

Ladybug was absolutely delighted with that response. She brought her other hand up to join the first, scratching his scalp to either side of that ear, and was rewarded with a feline stretch as he sought to push his head farther into her hands. Unfortunately, he stretched a bit too far and began to list to the side. Ladybug pulled him upright once more, but the damage was done. His purr faltered, and stopped completely as he came awake.

"Good evening, _mon minou_ ," she greeted him, smiling.

"Mmm. My lady." He stretched, arching his back away from the wall. "Did you rest well?"

"I did, thanks to you, and that purr of yours."

He blanched, and his cat ears laid back on his head. "My…purr?"

She nodded, smiling widely. "Did you know that you purr?"

"I—I did, actually." He glanced at her, and started fiddling with his tail. "It's uh, it's kind of embarrassing."

"What? No! It's adorable!"

His ears perked. "Really?"

"Really." She scratched under his chin experimentally, and his eyes slid closed as the low, resonant sound started once more. "Oh my goodness, you're like a giant house cat!"

He sighed happily. "Only if I can be your house cat, my lady."


	8. Sultry & Eiffel Tower

Ladybug laid flat on her back, with her arms and legs spread wide on the grating. The metal was still warm, but then again, **everything** was warm, and at least the floor of the grated observation deck allowed for some air flow. Besides, pretty much anything was better than being stuck inside the bakery. She sighed and stretched languorously, staring up at the stars.

"Out for some fresh air on this sultry evening, my lady?"

She started, and glared at Chat Noir. "This is a metal deck on a metal tower, and you wear heavy boots. How is it possible for you to sneak up on me here?"

He shrugged, and stretched out beside her, nudging her spread limbs out of his way. "Kwami magic?"

"Hmmph. This is my spot," she grumped. "Why must you invade my corner of the deck, _Chaton_?"

He smirked up at the sky. "Because I know that your feelings would be hurt if I didn't."

She huffed, but knew that she couldn't argue the point. They slid into a comfortable silence as they contemplated the heat, the sky, and the benefits of being a superhero.

"What would you do, if you couldn't come up here to cool off?" Ladybug asked sometime later, gesturing to vaguely to the Tower.

"I don't know. Go swimming. Cool shower. Turn the AC down."

"Oh man, air conditioning." She sighed wistfully.

"No AC at home?"

"Nope."

"So what about you? What would you be doing right now, to stay cool?"

"I'd be sleeping on my balcony, wearing as little as possible."

He jolted, and rose on his elbow to look at her face.

She was smirking.

"Tease," he said, and subsided onto the grating. "Now I'll be thinking about you in almost nothing all night."

"Turn about's fair play, _Chaton_. I'll be thinking about your air conditioning all night."


	9. Communication

Of all the possible outcomes for this conversation, this was one that Chat Noir had not seen coming. If someone had asked him the likelihood of Ladybug willingly dropping her mask at any time prior to it actually happening, he'd have said zero. Nil. Nada. No way, Jose.

He would have bet heavily against anyone who suggested otherwise.

And he would have been wrong.

"Tikki, spots off," she'd said, her voice flat.

He watched in utter shock, and if he were honest with himself, fascination, as a pink light ran up her body, taking the spotted suit as it went. The young woman left in its wake wore pink ballet flats, black leggings, and a soft, drapey top the same color as her shoes.

His heart was thumping heavily in his chest; he wanted to laugh, to crow that his lady had finally decided to reveal herself.

But he could not.

This…was wrong. This was not what he'd wanted, what he'd imagined it would be. She continued to stare at his boots, her head bowed and shoulders slumped as her kwami nuzzled her cheek.

The nascent laugh died in his chest.

What had happened? How had she gone from vehemently insisting that they could never reveal themselves, to so cavalierly dropping her transformation? What the hell had he missed?

"Ladybug?" He crouched low, dropping one knee to the rooftop as he tried to peer beneath her fringe. She flinched, shying away from his gaze; then she sighed resignedly and looked up, directly into his eyes.

"Hello, Adrien."

He felt shock jolt through him again, more intense and more complex than before.

 _Marinette_.

"Oh God." He shot to his feet, staring at her as a confusing jumble of conflicting emotions surged through him. Disbelief. Joy. Anger. Love. Betrayal. Hope. "Oh my fucking God."

She laughed humorlessly. "Yeah."

"All this time…" He shook his head, as if to clear it. "Were you ever going to tell me?"

"I don't know." She lowered her eyes. "Maybe, if we… I mean, if we were to…" She sighed, and leaned her head back against the chimney stack, her eyes closed. "I really don't know, Adrien."

Her words fell like blows, and he scoffed. "So not only does Ladybug not trust Chat Noir, but Marinette doesn't trust Adrien."

Her eyes flew open, her expression horrified. "NO!"

"Then what the hell is it?" He yelled, both hurt and baffled by her reticence.

"I was afraid!" She yelled back, the gathered tears finally spilling down her cheeks. "I _am_ afraid! Ladybug is clever and proud and strong and graceful and all of the things that I will _never_ be on my own." She swiped angrily at her tears, and pushed herself to her feet. "How could I ever let my incredible partner see that the real me is just a clumsy, pathetic mess? How could I ever tell my wonderful boyfriend that the girl he's settled for is sometimes the beloved savior of Paris, but only when enhanced by a magical pair of earrings and the ancient embodiment of creation? How could he ever be satisfied with just _me_?" A broken sob tore from her, and she spun from him, hiding.

Chat gaped at her, utterly poleaxed for the third time that night. Was that really how she saw herself? "Marinette—"

"And now that I know that you're both Adrien Agreste _and_ Chat Noir, the two most incredible people I've ever known, all wrapped up in one package…" She scoffed, shaking her head.

"Fuck. Claws in, Plagg." He felt his transformation leave him, and after an uncharacteristically compassionate pat to the cheek, Plagg drifted off to join the little red kwami.

He stepped closer to her, and raised a hand to turn her back towards him, but stopped just shy of her shoulder. "Marinette, I can't—You don't—I have no idea what to say. Is that really how you see yourself? Do you really believe all that?"

Her shoulders hunched, but she didn't answer.

"Oh my god, you do." He ran his hands through his hair, feeling completely at a loss. "Marinette, do you think that I am stupid?"

She spun back to face him, her tear-stained expression indignant. "No, of course not!"

"Do you think that I'm incapable of making sound judgements for myself, or that I'm blind to the faults of those around me?"

"No!"

"Then why do you think that I would love you so much, if you were so undeserving of it?" Her eyes widened, and he pressed on. "Why would I 'settle' for anything less than what I truly want?"

"I—I don't—you don't—"

"And what about Tikki? Do you think that she would have chosen you, if you were so unworthy? _You_ are Ladybug. You are clever and strong and everything that Ladybug is. The suit enhances your strength and agility and coordination, just as mine does for me. But the rest is all you."

"N-no. You don't understand. You think that I'm some perfect paragon—"

He couldn't help it, he snorted at that. "I really don't." Her brow furrowed, and he laughed outright. "Not blind to faults, remember? You're stubborn, and obsessive, and you have a temper. You get tunnel vision when you're in the middle of a project. You're clumsy. You're surprisingly impetuous, and it's only by virtue of your insane luck that it hasn't gotten you into trouble yet. You snore when you're overtired, and you're always a blanket hog." He closed the distance between them, and cupped her face in his hands. "You're far from perfect, Bug, and I know it. But you're also kind, creative, generous, and fiercely loyal. Your baking is even better than your parents', and you give the best hugs. You _are_ brave and clever and strong."

"Adrien—"

"I love everything about you, Marinette."

Her eyes closed, and another tear fell from her lashes. "I'm broken."

He snorted again, and he let his hands fall to her shoulders. "You've met my father. You think I'm not broken?"

She laughed, in spite of herself, and he pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him tightly. "So what happens next?"

He drew in a deep breath, and blew it out slowly. "I don't know. I guess we have some things to work through."

She nodded against his chest. "I guess we do."

"It'll be alright though, right? I love you, Marinette. That hasn't changed."

She tightened her arms at his waist. "I love you too, kitty."


	10. Accident & Falling

Ladybug had missed.

It didn't happen often, and when it did, Tikki's luck ensured that if the mistake didn't end up being beneficial, it at least didn't do any harm. But this time, Tikki's luck had failed her—and failed her _spectacularly_.

Chat Noir had engaged their foe in the upper levels of a skeletal new building, balancing on the steel beams of its frame, leaping from one to another as they fought. Ladybug had thrown her yoyo from a few levels down, intending to hit the akuma and temporarily draw its attention. She'd wanted to provide her partner with a window. Instead, she'd created one for the Akuma.

Chat had been poised to strike, his staff in hand, and she'd sent it flying. There was a flash of red, and a clunk, and it was gone. He stared after the falling staff, and his moment's distraction cost him: the akuma back-handed him with enough force to send him sailing through the air. He slammed headfirst into a vertical beam, and then he was falling.

Ladybug watched it in slow motion, horror filling her, until he was in a free fall. Then time resumed its normal pace. Her stunned partner hurtled toward the ground, too disoriented to catch himself even if he had the benefit of his staff, but Ladybug felt as if her limbs were moving through sludge as she recalled her yoyo and took off after him. She leapt from the incomplete building, and nearly wept when she caught him, her shoulder slamming into his stomach and her arms around his back. She twisted them in midair and launched her yoyo again, holding tight to Chat and praying to anyone who would listen that her luck had returned.

The yoyo caught on one of the beams and the line went taut. The sudden stop was hell on her shoulder, especially with Chat's weight added to her own, but Ladybug held fast and they swung down until she could safely drop them to the ground.

"Are you alright?" She asked him anxiously.

He winced, rubbing the back of his head. "Eh, I've been better."

"Oh, I can't believe I did that! I'm so sorry, I'm normally not so accident-prone as Ladybug, I don't know what happened—"

"Relax! I'll be fine, Bug. Let's take care of this akuma, and you can fuss over me later. Deal?"

She gave him a small smile, and started her yoyo to swinging. "Deal."


	11. Stay (a little longer)

Chat Noir clutched his partner to his chest, panicking at the sight of her blue lips and alarmingly pale skin. "Come on LB, stay with me!"

Her eyelashes fluttered, and she snuggled tighter against his chest. "Warm. Want to sleep."

Chat's eyes widened in alarm. He was no doctor, but he knew it was bad when someone was freezing, but started feeling warm. "Oh, no. You can't sleep, Ladybug! I need you to stay awake! Stay with me, just a little longer!"

"Can't. Want to sleep."

Shit. Shit shit shit! What could he do? Take her back to his house? Or maybe, to Marinette's? He knew she would help, and could be trusted. He looked around frantically, trying to get his bearings, and stood with her over his shoulder, his staff extended.

"Chat Noir! Chat Noir, wait!"

He turned, and saw Alya and Nino racing up to him, their faces drawn with worry, and their teeth chattering in the cold.

"Take her—to my house," she panted, hands braced on her bent knees. "It's close."

He regarded her uncertainly. He loved Alya, but he wasn't sure he could trust the Ladyblogger to keep her journalist's nose out of things she didn't need to know.

"Dude, I know your identities are important and all, but her lips are _blue_. She took a direct hit, right?" Chat grimaced, and nodded.

"Come on, you have to get her warm, and that akuma isn't going to stay unconscious long. Please let us help."

Chat hesitated a moment longer, weighing the earnest expressions on his friends' faces, and shifted her in his arms so that he was cradling her, bridal style. "Alright. Yes, thank you. Where are we going?"

"Just here, come on!"

Chat Noir followed the pair around the corner, and up the stairs into an apartment building only halfway up the block. Alya hadn't been kidding; it _was_ close.

"Almost there, my lady. Hang on."

A quiet moan was her only response.

Alya led the way up to her apartment, and threw open the door for him to precede her. "Go into the bathroom, second door on the left, and get the hot water going in the shower. It'll warm up the room while you get her undressed. _Don't_ put her into the water!"

His heart pounding, he strode past the wide-eyed faces of Alya's family and into the bathroom without pause; someone closed the door behind him. He dropped her legs to free a hand, and turned on the hot water. It was so, so tempting to hold her under the rapidly warming stream of water, but he knew even without Alya's warning not to do that. Still holding her, he dismissed his transformation, and began rubbing at her arms.

"Plagg, can you communicate with her kwami? Get her to drop the transformation? I need to get her out of the wet things, and—"

There was a flash of pink light, and suddenly it was a pajama-clad Marinette groaning in his arms, with unnaturally pale skin and blue lips. Something tiny and red fell from her earrings, and Plagg flew to catch the little red Kwami.

Adrien felt his heart stutter. "Oh, God."

"Don't just stand there, kid!" Plagg shoved tiny paws against his cheek, the red kwami floating just behind him. "She needs you!"

Adrien shook himself, and with trembling hands, he stripped the flannel pants from her legs and tossed them with a wet plop into the sink. At her top, he hesitated, recognizing that she was definitely _not_ wearing a bra beneath it.

Her kwami tugged weakly at his hand. "Adrien, this is no time to be worrying about modesty! Please, hurry!"

"Pretend she's just one of your father's models—this isn't anything you haven't seen before! Get on with it!"

Adrien nodded and fumbled with the buttons a bit before giving up and simply tugging the two sides apart, sending the little buttons flying. Then he peeled the shirt from her body, while trying to keep his eyes focused on anything but her nakedness. When the shirt had joined her pants in the sink, began trying to work off his own clothing without releasing her, knowing that his body heat would help to warm her up. He was shoving his sodden jeans down one handed when there was a knock at the bathroom door.

"Chat Noir? There are big fluffy towels in the linen closet next to the sink. Once you get rid of her wet clothes, wrap her up! My mom is heating up some soup, to warm you guys from the inside, too."

He nodded gratefully, though she couldn't see it. "Thank you!" He called through the door, kicking the wet denim from his feet. "I can't tell you how much—"

"Hey, don't worry about it. With all you do for Paris, it is _literally_ the least we could do, to offer help when you need it."

He braced her against the wall and pulled off his tshirt, then dumped it into the sink with her things. Then he pulled her back to his chest so that they were clammy skin to clammy skin, and moved to the closet Alya had mentioned. He opened it to find a whole stack of the big, oversized bath sheets similar to the ones in his own bathroom. "Perfect," he breathed, tugging one from the top of the stack. He wrapped it around their shoulders, pressing her close to his body to share his warmth. Later, he would relish the memory of her bare body pressed flush against his own, but for now, he was too preoccupied with worry to be anything more than dimly aware of anything else.

She groaned, shivering again, and he looked down to see that she wore a pained expression. He grimaced at her discomfort, but also felt relieved—it meant she was warming up. He held the towel around them with one hand, and used the other to vigorously rub her back beneath it. "I'm so sorry, my lady. I know that it's uncomfortable now, but we'll get you warmed up and then you'll be all right."

She groaned again, and he pressed a kiss to her still cold brow.

"I almost lost you," he whispered. "Next time, my lady, just let me take the hit."

She lifted her head from his shoulder, and did her best to glare at him. "No," she said simply, and dropped her head back down to rest against him. "Remind me to freak out about our identities later," she mumbled through her chattering teeth, as her arms snaked around his waist.

He grinned. "There she is," he said happily, squeezing her.


	12. Trusting

"You are far too trusting, Chat Noir!"

"And you are not trusting enough," he shot back, slashing his hand through the air angrily. "You don't even know who I want to tell, or anything about them. Who are you to judge?"

Ladybug threw her hands into the air in exasperation. "It doesn't matter, Chat! It doesn't matter who you want to tell, because it's too dangerous for us to tell _anyone_. Or have you forgotten why we haven't even told _each other_?"

"Oh, of course not, _my lady_ ," he sneered, and for the first time in four years, the nickname was not an endearment. "How could I forget that my _partner_ doesn't trust me enough to tell me her name, no matter how many times we've been there for each other or how many times I've respected her wish for anonymity?"

"What, is that what you're doing now? 'Respecting' my wishes? 'Cause right now, it seems like you're trampling all over them."

"What of _my_ wishes, Ladybug? You've utterly ignored them for _four years_ , and now you're pissy because I'm finally doing what I want?"

She stamped her foot angrily, her face flushed and her fists clenched. "I _want_ us to be safe!"

"No," he scoffed. "You _want_ to keep that barrier between us, to keep this life from bleeding into your personal life. To keep _me_ out of it."

Ladybug recoiled as if struck, and her face paled beneath the mask. " _What_?"

"Our kwamis have both said that we could reveal ourselves now, and yet you stubbornly refuse to do so. What other reason could you possibly have, except to keep me at arm's length?"

"Chat, that isn't it at all—"

"It doesn't matter what it is. I finally have someone in my personal life that I want to keep there, and I believe that honesty is a necessary element of any relationship. I thought that you, of all people, would respect that." She flinched, and he knew his barb had found its mark. "I'm going to tell her who I am, and if she can accept all of me, then I am going to ask her to marry me."

Her eyes widened, and she took a tentative step forward. "You can't—"

"I wasn't asking permission, Ladybug," he said flatly, his expression shuttered. "I've had enough of that in my life, and I'm done."

"I didn't mean—"

"She is the _only_ one who has ever respected me enough to consider what I want out of life, and I love her. She deserves to know the truth. I told you about my plans only as a courtesy to you. I am going to tell Marinette who I am, with or without your approval."

Ladybug gasped, and stumbled backward; a wide chimneystack was the only thing that kept her upright. She stared at him in mute horror, and Chat felt suddenly off balance, as if he'd missed something important.

"Ladybug?" She sank to the ground, shaking, and shaking her head, and he felt his irritation with her shift into concern. What the hell? "Are you all right?"

"No, I don't think I am," she murmured, tears in her eyes as she stared at his boots. "Tikki, spots off."


	13. Sharing Food

"A food akuma? Seriously?"

Chat Noir dodged a flying pizza, and smirked at Ladybug. "What's wrong my lady, lost your appetite?"

"The opposite, actually. I'm starving!" She hooked her yoyo around a light pole, and launched herself up and out of the way of more pizzas.

He used his staff to vault to the top of the light pole and crouched there, to help pull her up. "Oversleep again this morning?"

"Ugh, yes." She crouched next to him, her arm hooked around his leg for stability, and retracted her yoyo. "I really need to stop skipping breakfast."

"Well, how about we stop Foodie over here, and then we can skip on over to a café for brunch." He waggled his eyebrows at her, and she rolled her eyes.

"I have to get back to-Chat, look out!" She shoved him sideways, knocking them both from their perch as flaming breadsticks shot through the air where they'd just been.

He landed on his hands and launched himself into a back handspring; she hooked her yoyo around the light pole again, and swung herself to the ground gently.

"That is _so_ not what I ordered," Chat called to the akujma, doing his best to imitate Chloe.

"I don't care!" Foodie roared, leveling his pizza gun at them. "You're just as bad as those snotty little brats in my restaurant! YOU WILL EAT WHAT I SERVE YOU!"

"Uh-oh!" Chat dove behind a car, with Ladybug hot on his heels. "How's about a Lucky Charm, Bugaboo? I'm just about ready for the check."

"You and me both. I'm tempted to snag one of those pizzas out of the air, so I can eat it!"

"Eh, I'd advise against that." He pointed to where one of the pizzas had hit the road, and had eaten into the asphalt like acid. "There aren't enough Tums in the world for the heartburn _that_ would cause."

"Yeesh, no kidding. Lucky Charm!" She called, tossing her yoyo into the air. "A jar of pepper flakes?"

"I guess it's time to spice things up?"

"Ugh, Chat," she replied, rolling her eyes as she peeked up over the hood of the car, to take in the scene. Her eyes fell on his pizza gun, and she brightened. "Chat Noir, you're a genius!"

His ears perked. "I—I am?"

"Of course! Just follow my lead, and try to get the spatula away from him." She leapt from their hiding place and charged right at the akuma, the pepper shaker held high. "Hey Foodie, I guess I could eat your pizza, if I added enough seasoning to it."

Chat grinned, seeing immediately what she was up to. "Yeah, I know, right? I haven't even tasted it yet, but I can already tell that it's going to need salt, at the very least."

"Argh! How dare you! My recipes are flawless! My food seasoned to perfection!"

"Come on, Foodie." Ladybug held the shaker out menacingly as she closed in on him. "Just a few shakes of pepper, and I'm sure that pizza will at least be palatable!"

"No!" He dropped his spatula to hug his pizza gun to his chest protectively. "Stay away from me!"

Chat hit the spatula with the end of his staff, flipping it up into his waiting claws. "Gotcha! Heads up, LB!" He snapped it in half, releasing the deep purple butterfly, and Ladybug snatched it from the without delay. Soon, everything was as it should be, and in place of a villain, a very confused café owner sat in the middle of the road with a newly repaired spatula clutched in his hands.

Chat held his fist out for their customary fist bump, but rather than 'pounding it,' she grabbed his hand almost desperately.

"Is it, uh, too late to take you up on that offer for brunch," she asked, her stomach rumbling audibly.

He grinned with delight at the thought of sharing his favorite meal with his favorite person. "It's never too late for brunch, Ladybug."


	14. Addictive

"Did you bring them? Please tell me you brought them."

"That depends, _mon minou_." Ladybug sauntered over to her partner, leaned in close, and flicked the bell at his throat. "What have you got for me?"

Chat Noir bounced on his toes excitedly, and bent to scoop up a bag of coffee from where he left it on the low ledge. "You are going to love this one! It's a dark roast Arabica out of Ethiopia, and it's so strong that even my dad won't drink it."

"Yeah?" She took the proffered bag and held it to the light, examining the label. "Whole bean, right?"

Chat Noir gasped in indignation. "Would I dare to bring you anything else, my lady?"

"No, you wouldn't." She grinned, and stood on her toes to press a kiss to his cheek. "I can't wait to try it! Do you have more at home?"

"Yeah, we've got a whole case of it! Dad wanted it thrown out, but I saved it for you." He studied his claws nonchalantly, and she giggled.

"You're the best, _chaton_!"

"I am. I really am." He stepped closer and leaned down to put his head on her shoulder, and gazed up at her through his lashes. "Don't good little _chatons_ deserve treats?"

"They do," she replied, laughing. "They really do." She slipped away from him and moved around the corner of a chimney stack, and came back into sight with a large bakery box in her hands. "What do you think, Chat? Will these help you scratch your itch?"

"Oh my god, Bug. Are those…?"

"The _Mort Par Chocolat_ macaron assortment from the best bakery in Paris." She opened the lid with a flourish, and grinned at the naked longing on his face as his fingers hovered over the different varities.

"Peanut butter and dark chocolate ganache. Milk chocolate and hazelnut. White chocolate and marzipan. And, _merde_ , Ladybug, dark chocolate with raspberry coulis? Are you trying to kill me?"

Ladybug laughed, and tugged the box away from him. "You have to promise me, Chat, that you will **not** eat all of these at once, like you did last time."

"Don't ask me to make promises that I can't keep," he replied, pouting.

"I will not let you make yourself sick! And I don't want you getting in trouble again, you junkie. Promise me, and they're yours."

He glared petulantly. "If you take back your cookies, I'm taking back my coffee."

She giggled. "No you won't. But even if you did, I'd rather put up with the caffeine withdrawal headache than let you make yourself sick."

"Ugh, fine." He nudged her shoulder with his arm, a smile curling the corners of his mouth. "I promise."

She passed the box to him, and he excitedly dug into it, agonizing over which one to eat first. "We're quite the pair, aren't we? The chocoholic cat and the caffeine-addicted bug."

He made his selection and stuffed the entire macaron into his mouth at once, then sighed blissfully. She shook her head, but knew she had no room to criticize. She **really** needed to cut back on the coffee…


	15. Summer Nights

Chat Noir rolled his eyes. "Yeah because that's totally the same thing."

Ladybug giggled, but said nothing.

"You know, Bug," he said casually, his eyes still on the stars. "You could always come to my place and enjoy the air conditioning with me."

She snorted. "What, and you could enjoy me in my itty bitty pajama shorts?"

"Ah, what?" He choked out, a vision of her long legs bare and reclining on his bed filling his mind. He did his best to shrug nonchalantly, feigning indifference. "I mean, if you still wanted to go that route, sure."

"There's a whole lotta summer left to get through, Kitty," she pointed out, laughter in her voice. "And a lotta summer nights. Would you really show me the wonders of sleeping in the AC, and then expect me to go back to sleeping in an oven?"

 _I have to stop thinking about Ladybug in my bed_. He throttled his wayward thoughts and rolled his head to give her a flat look. "In an oven? Really?"

She waved a hand dismissively. "Above an oven, actually, but in this heat it amounts to the same thing."

He grunted skeptically. "And you say I'm over-dramatic."

Ladybug sat up to scowl at her partner. "Listen here, you mangy cat. You try sleeping in a house with an industrial oven in the summer without air conditioning, and then tell me how dramatic I'm being!"

His brows rose, curiosity piqued. "Industrial oven?"

"Uh, never mind," she huffed.

He smiled wistfully, tucking that little detail away, and looked back to the sky. "So I guess relocating to my place is out, then, huh?"

"Don't tempt me, kitty," she sighed. "Please, don't tempt me."


	16. Sober

When Chat Noir reached their meeting place, he saw that Ladybug had arrived there ahead of him, and he smiled.

"My Lady," he said, bowing. "Are you ready to—"

"Chat, do you think I'm _sexy_?"

He stopped short, taken completely off guard by her question. "Ah, is that a trick question?"

"No!" She began earnestly, clutching her yoyo to her chest and stumbling a bit as she stepped closer to him. "I really want to know, because there's this guy, right? And I'm toootally in love with him, because he's _incredible_ , and I know that he knows that I exist becaus I can finally talk to him now, and we talk, you know? We talk! But it's been _years_ , and he only sheesh—no, _sees_ , me as a friend. So I thought, maaaybe I'm not sexy enough. Or maybe I'm not likeable! Am I not _likeable_ , Chat?"

Chat stared at her, trying to sort through her unusually rapid speech and grandiose gestures for meaning, and he must have taken too long. Her eyes rounded and filled with tears, and the next thing he knew, she'd thrown her arms around him and was sobbing into his chest.

"I'm un-liiiike-a-bllllle," she wailed.

"What just happened?" He asked the sky. Chat put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back, so that he could see her face, and recoiled immediately. " _Dieu_ , Ladybug, your breath smells like a winery. Are you _drunk_?"

Her mercurial mood shifted again, and she giggled. "Chat Noir, are you _sober_?"

"Well, that is usually how we do patrols," he muttered, still trying to wrap his head around a _drunk Ladybug_.

"Oh! That's why I'm here. I can't go patrolling with you tonight." She leaned forward and put a hand on his shoulder to pull him down, closer to her face, as if to tell him a secret. "I'm a little drunk," she whispered conspiratorially, and giggled again.

"So I noticed," he deadpanned, and sighed. He'd been looking forward to patrolling with her. "I'll take care of the patrol tonight, Bug. You go on home and—Hang on, how did you even get here?"

"Like this!" Ladybug swung out her yoyo and promptly hit herself in the forehead. Then she frowned down at it on the ground, as if surprised to see it there. "Ow."

Chat blanched, thinking of all the ways she could have killed herself trying to play Spider Man while drunk. "Okay. New plan. Patrol is canceled, and I am taking you home."

"You can't take me home, silly. You don't know where I live." She tried to put a hand on her cocked hip, but missed, and jabbed her thumb into her hip. She looked down, placed her hand carefully on her hip, and then looked back at him with a proud smile. "Besiiides," she continued, "if you take me home, you'll know who I am! You can't know who I am, that would be insane."

He sighed. He should have known that she'd be hell-bent on protecting their identities, even drunk. "Then I'll take you back to my—uh, my friend's house. I'll take you to my friend, and he will take care of you."

Ladybug tipped forward from the hips, and narrowed her eyes assessingly. "You're just going to take me to your house, detransform in another room, and then come in pretending to be surprised, aren't you?"

"No! No no no, of course not." She crossed her arms and arched her brow skeptically, then over-balanced and stumbled forward. He sighed. "Ok, fine. Yes, that's exactly what I was going to do. But you can't get home on your own like this. Either you let me take you somewhere safe, or we're sitting here until you sober up."

"Ugh, fiiiine. But only if you promise to help me figure out why Adrien Agreste isn't interested in me." She huffed petulantly, oblivious to the dumbfounded expression on his face. "I'm not really unlikeable, am I?" She whined.

Then she blanched, and her eyes widened. "Oh, shit!" She clamped her hands over her mouth, spun away from him, and puked right there on the roof.

He blinked at his retching companion, and shook his head as if to clear it. "How is this my life?" He asked no one at all. He sighed and put a hand on her back, smiling ruefully. "Somehow, I always envisioned our reveal being so much more romantic."


	17. Crime

Chat Noir studied the unmistakable figure moving quietly through his darkened room, and wondered why in the world she'd come here after patrol rather than going home. "You do know that breaking and entering is a crime, don't you Ladybug?"

"Adrien!" Ladybug gasped, spinning away from his desk. "Wait, Chat? I thought you were—never mind. What are you doing here?"

"I li-iiike to stop by and say hello every once in a while." Chat kicked himself for the near slip, and came farther into the room to lean negligently against the back of his white couch, his arms crossed over his chest. "What are you doing here?"

"I just…wanted to check on him." She clasped her hands together and looked around the room nervously, avoiding his gaze. "I was worried about him, after today, but he's not here."

Chat felt warmth bloom in his chest, knowing that she'd been concerned for him. "He's fine. I uh, saw him earlier." _In the mirror,_ he added silently.

"Oh," she said to her toes. "Are you two friends, then?"

Adrien snickered. "You could say that."

"Do you think he'd mind, if I waited here for him to get back?" She finally met his eyes, and he saw to his surprise that she was blushing. "I'd—I'd really like to see for myself, that he's okay."

The warm feeling grew, and he found himself smiling stupidly at her. Ladybug cared about him!

Then it hit him that 'Adrien' _was_ home, but he couldn't tell her that without also telling her something she'd made clear she didn't want to know. His smile faded, and he put a hand to the back of his head, trying to think his way out of the conundrum.

"Chat? I guess you think I should just go, then." She kicked at the floor, sighing glumly.

No! He didn't want her to go! But she'd given him the perfect out, one that didn't require any creative lying; he just had to let her believe that 'Adrien' wouldn't want to see her.

He couldn't do it.

"Ah, no, not exactly…" She looked at him curiously, and he continued. "I don't think he'd mind, really but uh…it's complicated."

"How—"

"I could explain it, but it would require me to explain his relationship to me, and you might learn more about me than you really want to know." He hesitated, trying to gauge her reaction, but there wasn't much he could glean from her wide-eyed expression. "Like, a _lot_ more."

"Oh my god," she breathed. "How did I never see it before?"

 _Merde_ , was that…disappointment? Chat's eyes blew wide in panic, and he stepped forward to grip her shoulders, and peer into her eyes. "Hey, I'm still me, you know? Nothing is going to change, right?"

"I mean, of course you're still you. But…all this time. All of the flirting and the drama and—and the puns! It was all just a smoke screen!"

"Wait, what?"

"And Adrien…no wonder he never looked twice at me. He was into you!"

Chat let his arms fall, and stepped back to frown at her. "Uh, Ladybug, I think—"

"Oh Chaton, you should have just told me. I don't care what your sexuality is."

"Wait, Ladybug—"

"I mean, I'm bi! How could I possibly mind that you're gay?"

"LADYBUG! I'm not—that's not what this is about!"

She wrinkled her nose in confusion. "Then what are you talking about?"

"This! Plagg, claws in!"

Ladybug stared at him in consternation, her mouth opening and closing repeatedly, like a fish. "Well, that explains a lot," she finally muttered, plopping down at the end of his bed.

He walked over and tipped her chin up with his hand, a small smile playing around his mouth. "And for the record my lady, I'm bi too."


	18. Early Hours, Courage & Daybreak

"I thought I might find you up here." Chat Noir collapsed his baton, and hooked it at his belt. "I went by the hospital as soon as I heard, but they said you'd left a few hours ago."

Ladybug glanced up at him with a wan smile. "I couldn't stay there. I had to get out."

"I get that." He sat next to her, and draped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. "Why didn't you call me?"

"Too raw." She shrugged. "How was _maman_?"

"Scared. Exhausted. Worried about you."

"I should be there with her," she sighed guiltily. "I'm being selfish."

"She understands, Mari. And you know she'd still be worrying for you, even if you were there."

Ladybug laughed a little at that, recognizing the truth of his observation. "Yeah, probably."

"So, how are you holding up?"

"I don't know, honestly. It feels surreal." She leaned her head on his shoulder, and relished the warmth and comfort in his embrace.

He squeezed her shoulder. "He'll pull through, Marinette."

"Will he? You didn't see him, Adrien. He—" She cut herself off, swallowing her sob, pushing down the awful memory of her father's broken body splayed out in the street. Numbly, she stared out over the rooftops of a slumbering Paris. How it could all seem so normal when her world was crumbling beneath her? "The doctor in the emergency room wasn't nearly so optimistic," she said flatly.

"Hey, your dad is a strong guy. I know it's bad, but they said that if he can survive the night, he'll be ok. He's already made it through the early hours, Bug. Dawn isn't far off."

"I'm afraid to hope."

"Can…can you tell me what happened?"

She closed her eyes, drew in a deep breath through her nose and blew it out the same way. "We went for a walk after dinner last night. He needed to put something in the post box, and it was such a nice night. We got only as far as the next corner. The car came from the other direction, so we didn't see it coming. The driver had been drinking."

" _Merde_."

"He was going too fast, and lost control. Papa, he…he pushed me out of the way."

Understanding washed over him, and he closed his eyes in resignation. "You're not responsible."

"It should have been me."

He wrapped his other arm around her, shivering at the prospect of her being the one lying broken in a hospital bed. "No! Marinette, you can't think that way."

"How can I not?" The trapped sob finally broke free, and the flood gates opened. "I'm the super hero, I should have protected him," she cried, clinging to him.

"My lady, please. You'll make yourself crazy with that. There was nothing you could have done. You weren't transformed, and there was no time. Please don't do this to yourself."

For many long minutes, he held her as she cried, stroking her back and murmuring his love and support into her hair. They stayed that way even after she'd quieted, holding one another as the sky began to brighten, ever so slowly.

Finally, Ladybug stirred in the gray predawn, shifting to sit next to him once more and sighing heavily.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Chat asked, settling her next to him and leaning his cheek on her head.

She sighed again. "Even if he does survive—"

"He will."

"—it will be weeks before he can even leave the hospital, and weeks more before he'll be able to go back to work. _Maman_ can't run the bakery by herself. Even she and I together couldn't do it."

"Don't worry about that. The bakery should be the last thing on your mind."

She lifted her head to look at him. "We can't afford—"

"But I can."

"I can't ask—"

"You don't have to."

She frowned. "Adrien, I—"

"Marinette, I love you. I love your parents. I love your bakery. If nothing else, you have to let me help so as not to deprive me of my favorite pastries."

She laughed, just as he'd intended. "You're shameless."

"I am," he replied, smiling. "I really am."

They slipped back into silence, watching as the eastern sky slowly brightened with the coming dawn. When the sun at last peeked up over the horizon, Ladybug stirred again. "Daybreak," she murmured.

"Are you ready to go back?"

She sighed, and climbed wearily to her feet. "Ready or not, I need to go back. I've hidden away long enough."

"Courage, my lady. We'll go together."


End file.
